National Basketball Association commissioner David Stern answers questions from members of the media in New York. – Reuters NEW YORK — The National Basketball Association filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the players' union seeking a declaratory judgment that the lockout of players does not violate antitrust laws. The NBA said the lawsuit, which was filed in Manhattan federal court, arises from the players' union's threatened use of antitrust litigation to extract a more favorable contract in ongoing negotiations. The case is National Basketball Association vs. National Basketball Players Association, et al, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-5369. The NBA officials and players' representatives had met Monday for the first time since the league declared a lockout and there was no sign of any major progress in their labor dispute. The nearly three-hour meeting in New York came precisely one month after the lockout began July 1, with owners calling for an overhaul in pay structure, saying that 22 of the 30 NBA teams lost money last season. NBA Commissioner David Stern looked grim when he left the meeting. Asked if he believed the union was negotiating in good faith, the commissioner told reporters: “I would say not.” Asked about his outlook on being able to resolve the dispute over how to split some $4.3 billion in total revenues, Stern said: “We met for several hours, and I think it's fair to say that we're at the same place as we were 30 days ago. I don't feel optimistic about the players' willingness to engage in a serious way.” Before Stern spoke, union president Derek Fisher, a guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, told reporters there were no new proposals but he believed there could be future sessions between the sides in August. “We still realize we're very far apart,” Fisher said. “But without meeting ... there wouldn't be any progress at all.” Fisher said there would be more scrutiny on talks between the NBA and the union now that the NFL lockout had ended. But neither side said it felt compelled to act quickly simply because another league has ended its stalemate.
